REU Site: Research Experiences in Physiology and Neurobiology at UCONN

University Of Connecticut, Storrs CT

Investigators

Abstract

This REU Site award to University of Connecticut, located in Storrs, Connecticut, will support the training of 12 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2019-2021. The Department of Physiology and Neurobiology will offer research opportunities on Modeling in Physiological Systems. Research projects will expose REU participants to life in the research lab, where they will learn how to pose research questions, work as part of a research team, and experience first-hand the opportunity to devise their own research questions and the means to answer them. Professional development offerings and social events will include field trips and workshops on safe practices in the laboratories, ethical issues in science, leadership, graduate school application, and communication skills. An end-of-program symposium features student platform talks and poster presentations. Housing, a stipend, meal and travel allowances will be provided. Interested students, especially underrepresented minorities, veterans, first-generation college students, and students with disabilities from institutions with limited research opportunities are encouraged to apply. Online application is available through the site website. Students will be accepted on a rolling basis after an interview with potential faculty mentors. It is anticipated that a total of 36 students, primarily from schools with limited research opportunities, will be trained in the program. This Site encourages applications from veterans and students with disabilities. Students will learn how research is conducted, and many will present the results of their work at scientific conferences. The training is to support students who are interested in pursuing a research oriented career in a STEM field. A common web-based assessment tool used by all REU Site programs funded by the Division of Biological Infrastructure will be used to determine the effectiveness of the training program. Students will be tracked after the program in order to determine their career paths. Students will be asked to respond to an automatic email sent via the NSF reporting system. More information about the program is available by visiting https://pnbreu.uconn.edu, or by contacting the PI (Dr. Xinnian Chen at Xinnian.chen@uconn.edu) or the co-PI (Dr. Anastasios Tzingounis at anastasios.tzingounis@uconn.edu). This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.